Conventionally, various proposals are provided as to using a light emitting diode as an image pickup auxiliary light source and using an electric double-layer capacitor as a capacitor that accumulates electric charges for illumination. For example, an image pickup illumination apparatus is proposed (patent document 1), in which an electric double-layer capacitor is charged by means of an output from a voltage step-up circuit that steps up a power source voltage of a d.c. power source and a voltage, which is obtained by adding a voltage of the electric double-layer capacitor to the voltage of the d.c. power source, is applied to a light emitting diode. Besides, a flash power source apparatus is proposed (patent document 2), in which an electric double-layer capacitor is charged by means of an output current from a first voltage step-up circuit that steps up an input voltage from a power source battery to a predetermined voltage; and an electric current output from a second voltage step-up circuit that steps up the charged voltage is flowed into a light emitting diode to perform flash illumination. Further, a strobe circuit is proposed (patent document 3), which includes: a voltage step-up circuit that steps up a voltage of a battery; a switch circuit that switches an electric current from the battery between a conduction state and an interruption state; an electric double-layer capacitor 5 that charges an electric current from the switch circuit; a voltage monitor circuit that monitors a charge voltage of the electric double-layer capacitor and notifies the switch circuit of interruption at a charge end time; and a constant-current circuit that supplies an electric current from the electric double-layer capacitor to a light emitting diode.